China has launched live-fire drills around Taiwan, deploying air, navy and rocket troops for war games that its military said were aimed at testing combat readiness and delivering a “stern warning” against “separatist” and “external interference” forces.
In a statement, the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said it had concentrated forces to the north and southwest of the Taiwan Strait and carried out live firing and simulated strikes on land and maritime targets.
The drills, dubbed Just Mission 2025, would continue tomorrow, Tuesday, December 30, 2025, and include exercises to blockade the island’s main ports and encircle it.
Shi Yi, a Spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, said in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo that the activities will focus “on training for maritime and aerial combat readiness patrols, gaining integrated control, sealing off key ports and areas and conducting multi-dimensional deterrence.”
He added that the drills serve “as a serious warning to ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces.”
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said that it had deployed fighter jets, bombers, unmanned aerial vehicles, and long-range rockets, and would practise striking mobile land-based targets.
According to Shi, Chinese vessels and aircraft will approach Taiwan “in close proximity from different directions” and troops of multiple services will “engage in joint assaults to test their joint operations capabilities.”
China’s state broadcaster added that the drills would focus on sealing off Taiwan’s vital deep-water Port of Keelung to the island’s north and Kaohsiung to Taiwan’s south, the island’s largest port city.
Observers noted that while the Chinese military has practised port blockades around Taiwan during war games last year, this marks the first time it has publicly stated that drills around the island are aimed at deterring foreign military intervention.
It came amid anger in Beijing over an $11.1bn weapons sale to Taiwan by the United States, as well as a statement by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who suggested that the Japanese military could get involved if China were to attack the self-governed island.
Beijing considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has pledged to take control of the island by force if necessary. Taiwan rejects China’s claimed sovereignty, maintaining that only its people can decide the island’s future.
Taiwan Condemns China’s Drills
Taiwan’s government condemned the drills. Karen Kuo, the Spokesperson for the presidential office urged China not to misjudge the situation and undermine regional peace, and called on Beijing to immediately halt what they described as irresponsible provocations.
“In response to the Chinese authorities’ disregard for international norms and the use of military intimidation to threaten neighbouring countries, Taiwan expresses its strong condemnation.”
Karen Kuo
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said that two Chinese military aircraft and 11 ships had been operating around the island over the last 24 hours, and that the island’s military was on high alert and poised to carry out “rapid response exercises.”
That particular drill is designed to move troops swiftly in case China suddenly turns one of its frequent drills around the island into an attack. “All members of our armed forces will remain highly vigilant and fully on guard, taking concrete action to defend the values of democracy and freedom,” it said in a statement.
The ministry also posted a video on Facebook showcasing various weapons, including US-made HIMARS rocket systems, a highly mobile artillery system with a range of about 300km (186 miles) that could hit coastal targets in China’s southern province of Fujian, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, in the event of a conflict.
Taiwan’s coastguard added that it had dispatched large ships in reaction to Chinese coastguard activity near its waters and that it was working with the island’s military to minimise the drills’ impact on maritime routes and fishing areas.
READ ALSO: Political Parties that Ignore Intellectual Rigor, Moral Restraint Risk Collapse – CDD Fellow Warns
